Winnipeg councillors looking for ways to start compost program sooner than 2030 target

Winnipeg city council's most senior committee wants to know how a residential compost program could get up and running faster than the current seven-year timeline.

On Tuesday, council's executive policy committee approved a proposal to begin picking up food waste from Winnipeg homes by 2030. The committee had laid the matter over from its meeting last month to give staff more time to look at ways of bringing the program online sooner and for less money.

On Tuesday, committee members unanimously passed a motion that contained some differences from what council's water and waste committee had earlier approved.

The EPC motion asks staff to look for options from potential service providers that would allow the city to have a compost program in place by mid-2026.

Coun. Brian Mayes, who chairs the water and waste committee and also sits on EPC, called the 2030 timeline "disappointing."

"I've had people say … seven years isn't out of line, but having debated it this many years, you would like to get out to people's curb and offer some sort of service much quicker than that," he said in an interview.

One option would be to have an interim program, with the city dumping the material on an outdoor pad, similar to what the City of Regina currently does, Mayes said.

Going that route poses potential problems, such as odour issues and concerns about methane emissions, the St. Vital councillor said.

"If you're not really reducing the methane, was [the compost program] really worth it? Is it all just sort of showmanship to get it going by '26?"

The city estimates organic waste makes up about half of all residential garbage taken to the landfill, where it breaks down and turns into methane — a major contributor to climate change.

The city is also once again considering using a private "merchant" facility to process the material, rather than trying to that at a city facility.

"The [city] staff have advised us they don't have the ability to do a facility on their own, so we're back proceeding with the idea of private sector, which is what we do now for processing of recyclables," said Mayes.

Mayor has concerns about timeline, fee

Winnipeg is one of the last major cities in Canada without an organic waste pickup program.

Following a pilot project that tested curbside compost pickup in five Winnipeg neighbourhoods from 2020 to 2022, a report delivered to council last month recommended moving forward with a citywide program, but set the target date to start it as 2030.

The report also recommended gradually increasing the city's waste diversion fee for residents each year starting in 2024, with residents paying $96 more per year by 2030.

The city has debated the idea of a compost program for years, and Mayes says he wants something in place before the end of the current council term.

"We just have to make decisions on this sometime … and get a program approved before the next election," he said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has said he supports a residential compost program, but he has concerns about the timeline and the proposed $96 annual fee for residents.

"That's what the discussion needs to be, is to find a way … to identify ways that our organics collection program could be implemented sooner and at a lower cost," he said during a break in Tuesday's executive policy committee meeting.

Council will vote on the plan next week.